Legend of Zelda: A Wind of War
by Halcyon15
Summary: Link, Zelda, and a team of loyal warriors must attempt to save Hyrule from a dark threat...the incarnation of utmost evil. A mashup of all games and worlds. Contains political intrigue, some bloodshed, and many other things.
1. Chapter 1:Civility in a Sea of Hostility

**Feel free to comment.**

Hyrule Castle

Zelda

* * *

For the third time that day, Zelda wished she was never a princess.

She sat in her private chambers, sitting at a writing desk. One of her attendants had brought her some parchment reports, something about war in the neighboring country of Acheronia, between the House Cygnum and House Aquilum, both chief trading partners of Hyrule. The lords, ladies, and the Acheronian ambassadors were expecting her to explain her position, where her allegiance lies. Both Houses were prideful, and if she supported one over the other, one would gloat, and one would become outraged. This situation was so bad that even if she says one House's name before the other House name, she could offend the latter. It was a delicate balance.

Hyrule couldn't survive without them. House Cygnum provided them with iron, and military grade metals, an absolute necessity for keeping her people safe, and slaying the monsters that threatened them. In turn, she supplied them with fruits and grains from the Ordana province. The land that the House Cygnum owned were arid, rocky islands in a sea of briny foam. What they did have was metal, and lots of it. Although, Zelda realized, if the ties to House Cygnum were cut, she could always ask the Gorons. The House Cygnum needed her, or their people would starve.

The House Aquilum were a different matter entirely. They had a large vein of a rare materials, specifically the three pure metals, aquanine, crimsonine, and azurine. After a freak smelting accident, (which involved a ferret, a few poisonous chuchus and an undead swarm of locusts), Zelda discovered a metal, with all pure metals infused, repelled anything evil, cursed, or monsters. She called it Purifine, named for its purifying effects. Numerous uses gave Purifine its value. Salt lamps were one of them. In fact, Zelda had just installed a salt lam in every single room of the Castle.

Right now, she, Shad, and a few scholars were working on Purifine Beacons, which purified areas of monsters. Of course, she would have to leave some pockets of monster territory. They were good training, and many businesses required monster "spoils" for production. They also had difficulty causing the purifying field to _project _outward; ordinary Purifine salt lamps only projected ten feet away from the crystal itself, and thus wasn't very economical.

Her door flew open, and one of her handmaids entered. "Milady, they are _demanding_ that you come out and see them." Halidia was a nice maid, never complaining, always sweet.

"Halidia, can you tell them to have patience?" Zelda sighed. "Their childish antics are quite exhausting."

"Milady, I am pretty sure they won't like being called childish," Halidia noted

Zelda looked up, some of her golden hair masking her eyes. "No, just say the first part."

"My pleasure, milady. Should I summon any minstrels?" Halidia was always trying to go above and beyond. That was one of the reasons Zelda had hired her.

"No, but thank you. I need to focus. Music would just distract me."

Halidia chuckled. "Not for you, milady. I was hoping to.._distract _the ambassadors. Just to give you some more time."

Zelda nodded. "Yes. Definitely. Someone who takes a long time tuning, singing, and anything else."

"Ahh, Zinfandar? He could give you about and hour."

Zelda shrugged. "Sure."

Halidia nodded, gave a slight bow, and left, closing the door softly. Zelda sighed. Focus, she chided herself. One more day.

One more day, then she could leave for the ruins.

One more day, and she'd be free.

* * *

"Presenting the honorable Princess of Hyrule, including the Provinces Ordana, Lanayru, Eldin, and Faron, Governess of the Gerudo desert, Regent of the Snowpeak

Mountains, Lady of the Gorons, and Mother Regent of the Zora's, Zelda LXVII." The herald, dressed in his livery, gave a curt bow, then left the stage.

Zelda ascended to the throne. Soon enough, she would be the queen. Her father, Daphnes Nohansen XVII, was found infected of the Blight, a plague of a time long past. Despite the many concoctions, tinctures, and potions administered, he would not get better, in fact worsening. His inability to speak, much less to rule, gave all the responsibility to her.

The two ambassadors, Kavas Cygnum and Seyhar Aquilum, both believed that women were weak, insipid, and utterly unfit to rule. They were for rearing the children, keeping the homestead clean, and be devoted to her husband. Obviously, that was why they hated her. She threatened their preconceived notions of what a woman should be.

She used this to her advantage. None of the ambassadors expected her to stand up for herself. Shocking them would make them falter, tipping the scales of power in her favor.

A few others had entered the Hall of Petitions. Some were dressed in brown rags, others in the finest silk. It didn't matter. She was their monarch, but, unlike most monarchs, she cared for her people. All of them, from the poorest cripple to the finest Lord.

But today, she wasn't looking to seem kind and caring. She pulled out a dress designed for the purpose of intimidating. Dark red, with iron gray trimmings, it caused Zelda not to look like a benevolent monarch, but more like a goddess of war.

She sat, her blue eyes turned icy. One of the petitioners sank down in a faint. Fortunately, two Hylian guards grasped her, and led her to a chair.

A petitioner, a woman in a dirty shawl, approached apprehensively. Both ambassadors began to speak up, but Zelda silenced them. "This is my court; you are all equal."That silenced them, but they both glared at her with contempt.

Zelda looked at the petitioner, an old woman with rheumy eyes and deep set wrinkles. "What do you wish to say?"

The woman collected herself and spoke quietly into Zelda's ear. The princess's eyes grew wide with shock. "Disgusting." She motioned to some guards. "Come with Dorsette and find that man. He is a public menace."

The woman sighed in relief. Two guards accompanied her out the hallway. Zelda tried to clear her head of the disgusting scene that the woman made her think up.

Another petitioner ascended the steps to Zelda. He was impeccably dressed in a black duster, a sheathed sword at his hip. He bowed to Zelda, and looked her in the eye.

His eyes were blood red.

Zelda motioned for him to come closer. He leaned in.

"Are you Sheikah?"

The man, more of a boy, looking about seventeen summers old, nodded. "My name is Karzakh. One of the Clan of the Mountain, of the Ninth Stone House."

Zelda looked at him. "So you're some sort of dignitary."

He chuckled. "On contrary, I am a lowly servant to Your Eminence. I am a necromancer."

Zelda looked at Karzakh. "A dark Magician?"

He shook his head. "A common misconception. I merely am a custodian of the balance of Life and Death. But I digress. That isn't the reason I'm here."

Zelda's eyebrow raised. "And why would you be here?"

He smiled. "One of my 'informants' knows you will need some information. Something not so easy to find. Something _purged_."

Zelda nodded. Obviously this boy was crazy. Though to be courteous, she decided to humor him. "Alright, where can I find you?"

He looked at her and then answered curtly. "The Shining Sword. Western wall on the outside. Go to the cliff where it joins."

Zelda nodded, filing the information away. Karzakh nodded and left. Zelda made a sign with her hand, and the guards followed him out.

She looked around. Only the two Ambassadors remained. Kavas Cygnum stood a respectful distance away. Seyhar raised his hand.

"Yes?" She said it accusingly. Seyhar seemed to wilt, but remained standing.

"My most gracious hostess, I thank you for extending your benevolent arms in..."

"Cut to the chase, Seyhar!"Zelda snapped at him. Seyhar stepped back. "Don't use your court speech." Seyhar, hailing from the courts of Acheronia, had most definitely learned of the Court Speech, the art of honeyed words and sweet lies. Zelda detested it.

"Well, my gracious hostess, I, along with the Honorable Kavas Cygnum wish to tell of your position in the War of the Province."

Zelda stared at him accusingly. "You want me to tell you what I think of this 'war' over a barren swamp?" She stared at the two ambassadors.

Kavas bowed. "Why, Milady, there is more to this. The House Aquilum have given the House Cygnum many sorrows, many injustices."

"Liar!" shouted Seyhar.

Zelda shushed Seyhar with a motion of a hand. "So, I am not an ally to you then? More of a mediator to petty power plays?"

Kavas, his face crimson, bowed his head. "No, milady."

"I thought so." Zelda shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I believe wars over a plot of land the size of some of my towns are childish, ill-advised, and foolish."

Both the ambassadors began to object, but Zelda shushed them with a hand. "If you must know, I only wish to speak the truth. It is ill-advised to try to fight over worthless plots of land."

Kavas was outraged. "Milady, this isn't a question of land. This is a question of honor!"

Zelda laughed. "You fight for pride, not honor. Truly honorable men would shrug off the insult. He would save his strength for another day." With an iron glare, she stared both of them down. "Obviously, you are too blinded by hatred for each other, and don't see logic."

Seyhar bowed almost mockingly. "Milady, what is your position?"

"I support neither, and I have better things to do than meddle with your politics!"

The two ambassadors both bowed and left, their faces grim. Halidia approached with a Purifine lantern. The salty scent in the air invigorated her, the cool blue glow comforting.

"Halidia, could you assist me in dressing for the trip?"

Halidia bowed and nodded. Zelda sighed. Finally. She was done.


	2. Chapter 2:Starfall

**Feel free to comment, as always. I am keeping many of the Zelda monsters in, but I will add some from my imagination, and some from random mythologies.**

Somewhere in the Gerudo Desert

Link

* * *

Link surveyed the scene. It was a dry and dusty horizon, dead, with no visible life. Even so, it was quite beautiful. The way the light rippled over the sand was similar to the ocean, the way the light caught the crest of the wave. He remembered watching Ilia slide down the dune, the reddish desert cloak trailing behind her while she laughed in delight. It made him smile.

He turned back. The small campsite, two round tents and seven smaller, four man tents, was right by a bubbling oasis. He searched for the familiar shape of Ilia before spotting her beside the supplies tent, sparring with Ashei. She was quite adept at it.

Link shrugged. He hopped off the crest of the dune, and slid down, tracing patterns in the fine sand. He hopped off the trail and began to walk to the camp. He pulled out his thin, military-issue broadsword. It was a good sword, but it didn't feel as good as the one sword he used before. The special sword. Still, it was good to have a blade in his hand.

He heard something over to the west. His eyes snapped over to the edge of camp. He squinted, and began to walk over. He recognized the carriage, and recognized the crest on it more so. He smiled, took a deep breath, and shouted to the entire camp, "She's here!"

Everyone in the camp stopped what they were doing, and ran over to the carriage. They all greeted Zelda, who was dressed in red, Gerudo robes. She nodded at everyone, then brushed them aside and entered Link's tent.

"So, anything on your...predicament?" Zelda asked. Link knew what she was talking about. He closed the tent flap.

She watched as he pulled off his shirt. His lean but pronounced musculature, and bronze skin made fer face heat up,but it was his arm that caught her attention. From the back of his hand, where his Triforce mark was, to his left pectoral, the skin was swathed in bright golden designs. Symbols and letters from times long past, written in shining gold,ran up them.

Zelda observed them like a scientist. "Any changes?"

Link nodded, and turned to the lamp, turning it down. The symbols began to glow, softly at first, but brighter as it got darker. Zelda could barely look at his hand in the dimness of the tent. "Look closer, and you can see them growing," he said. Zelda looked, and he was right. Timy veins of gold were threading their way, slowly, but surely, over his chest. She turned the lamp back on, just as Shad and Ilia walked in.

Shad was staring at the glyphs on Link's chest. "You told me you found those glyphs in an odd place." He looked at a small charcoal drawing on a sheet of paper. "You never told me you found them on your boyfriend's chest." He was still staring at Link, who was sitting down, looking at the marks himself. "If you give me time, I could translate it."

Ilia looked through the sheaf of papers on her bed. She pulled out a sheaf of papers and handed them to Shad. "Here. I drew all of the symbols. Translate these. Link is helping with the excavation. We kinda' need him. "

Shad nodded, then looked at the drawings. "Huh, that's weird."

"What?" Zelda asked.

Shad pointed to a group of symbols clustered around Links hand. "Those translate to _Saelis Seriaf_. It literally means Fall of 'Stars'," He sighed. "I don't suppose that means anything to you?"

Link looked at Ilia. "I saw a similar symbol." She showed Shad the symbols. "It was over the gateway of the ruins."

Shad stared at that. "_Saefael Seriaf,"_ he murmured.

Zelda looked at it. "The Doom of...Stars?" She checked the symbols again. "_Sae_- is star, beacon, or lantern. _Fael_ means doom, or fall, like a fall from grace."

Ilia sat up, her golden curls bobbing with her head. "_Seriaf_ means city, right?"

Zelda nodded. "This is the City of Falling Stars."

Shad was rifling through his books. "Aha!" he exclaimed triumphantly. He held out a page. "One of Sophoclodes's books. He was a stellar scientist."

Zelda read aloud. "On that Fateful Day, Our Party rode onward to the Plains of Alir, when a Star Fell from the Heavens. It made Landfall in a Crevice by the Crags of Alir. When we Approached it, it was a Hideous Abomination, blackand half Molten, a sure Sign from the Gods Below."

Shad closed the book. "What that was was iron from a meteorite. A rock from the Heavens." He thought. "That means, that Virtrius's theory of the Macrocosm being like a mirror, with the Earth reflecting a flawed version of the Heavens would be wrong, and Mortario's theories of the Great Void have a scientific.."

Ilia cut him off. "You're cute when you babble," she said, "but if you talk anymore, my head will explode. What were you saying?"

Shad sighed. "My theory is that a meteor fell where Saefael Seriaf was, and it has some sort of connection to the city. Possibly religious or occult or such, but it could help explain the mystery of the place."

Link was putting his shirt back on, the symbols on his skin flowing fluidly. As he settled, a man opened the flap of the heavy goatskin tent.

He wore earthy reds and browns, spun in a loose fabric. His skin was dark, far darker than the pale Hylians working alongside them, closer to ebony. His rough hair was braided into dozens of mini braids, hanging from his head like cords. At the end of each braid, a small amulet was tied, bearing an image of one of their gods.

He was an Aghari, one of the neighboring tribesmen who agreed to help unearth Saefael Seriaf. From the amulet around his neck, he was also their leader. "My Sister," he said to Zelda, using the Aghari term for ally. "We have discovered something." His culture was based on trust and loyalty. Calling Zelda sister meant he would be with her as if she were one of his family.

Zelda nodded. "Yes, we'll be right out." She motioned for them all to put on the desert veils, and leave the tent.


End file.
